Time for another trip to Spain and this time we would be going to the fiestas in the village of Rafales (where Maite spent her summers growing up).  In true Spanish fashion, we arrived in Rafales at 4am and went out to party until about 8am when the party finished and the sun was rising.

For 5 nights, during the fiestas, there were bands playing from around 8pm to 4am and then a DJ until 8am.  Most of our nights involved going out to see the band at about 12AM and lasting as long as we could!:P  Some nights we made it to the end (sunrise) and a group photo was taken each morning with who was still out.  We had a great time during the party’s at night and seeing a lot of Maite’s friends.  Maria and Neil were over so it was nice to have a fellow Brit to speak English with too.  Also, some of the bands were quite Eurovisony which I found hilarious!

The days were very chilled (not literally they were roasting) and mostly involved relaxing, family meals, enjoying the sun and little wanders around the village.  On one day Maria and Jose came through so it was nice to catch up with them.

On the last day of the fiestas there was meal in the village square.  Food was provided and people brought their own tables, chairs and drinks.  There was a really nice atmosphere in the square and the charanga (brass band that had been hired for the fiestas) were also playing which I really enjoyed.   A bit later on the water party started which involved the charanga playing through the streets of the village at 1AM, everyone following them and people chucking buckets of water on you from terraces above! For the first time, this year there were also people in the streets throwing buckets of water.  It was sooo much fun and the whole time you were very alert trying to see where water might come from!

After the fiestas we spent a couple of days in Alcaniz.  On the first day we went up to Dani and Lidia’s masico (kind of cottage) just outside Alcaniz where we had a good time eating, drinking and playing games in the sun.  Dani and Lidia’s friends Ruben and Espe were also there and Maite had a lot of fun playing with her nephew Ian.  The next day Maite’s parents took us to a kind of fancy restaurant where we had some amazing food.

We then went back to Rafales where the temperatures were slightly more bearable.  Me and Maite went for a wee hike out of the village to Los Estrechos which is a very cool climbing location.  The mountain views along the route were really nice and it was awesome to see so many almond and olive trees everywhere.  On our last day in Rafales we spent our afternoon at the swimming pool to cool down.

Me and Maite had a great time in Spain.  As always it was very relaxing and great to catch up with family and friends…and also get a vitamin D top-up! 😛  The fiestas were awesome and would love to go again if we get the chance.

It had been a while since I visited the continent so was pretty excited about this trip.  Me and Maite also hoped to meet up with a few friends along the way.  The first stop was Gothenburg but unfortunately got there a day later than planned due to a flight cancelation.   When we got there we met up with our friends Kevin (who had joined us from Copenhagen) and Mhairi and spent our time catching up over lunch and coffees.  Afterwards me, Maite and Kevin went back to our Airbnb to make dinner, where we had a really nice attic conversion to ourselves.  The next day me, Maite and Kevin set about exploring Gothenburg.  First we headed down to Haga and found a bakery which made the biggest cinnamon buns I have ever seen.  They were also delicious!

To work off the buns we had a walk up to Skansen Kronan where you can see an old fort and get a good view of the city.  After this we had a wandered down to Feskekorka which is a pretty big seafood market, definitely a place to visit for a seafood fan.  As it was shaping up to be a nice day we had a wander through Kungsparken located next to the canal which was really nice.

Following the theme of wandering through parks, we then made our way out to Slottsskogen Park near to the botanic garden.  This park was huge and filled with tracks weaving through hilly woodland.  It was very cool to have this in the middle of a city and you could definitely forget you were in one.  Me and Maite also took a jaunt over to the Botanic Gardens which were very nice, massive and free.

Overall we really liked Gothenburg.  To me it had a typical Scandinavia feel about it but less busy and not as “sculpted” as the upcoming Copenhagen where we bussed to the next day.  When we got in we went to Kevin’s house where we would be staying for the next couple of nights.  Kevin stayed in a collective, essentially a big house for students, but the house dynamics are far more organised than any sort of student accommodation you will find in the UK.  When Kevin went to work, me and Maite had a wander around the city and got some food.  We then met Kevin at his work which was a board game café called Bastard café (I know right!:P) which was so cool and had hundreds, maybe thousands, of board games you can play.

The next morning we got an amazing breakfast at Souls which included just about everything you can ask for in vegan breakfast.

This breakfast fueled us up for a Sandemans walking tour which was really good as usual and went to the usual sights such as Nyhavn and Amalienborg which is the home of the Danish Royal family.  Crazy that you can wander around and get within touching distance of the palace walls, not many countries you can do that in!

After our tour we visited the Little Mermaid statue and then a jaunt over to Christianshavan. Here we went up Vor Frelser Kirke.  This was awesome because you can climb up through the ever-narrowing tower and then near the top there is an outside spiral walkway where you get fantastic views of the city.  In Christianshavan we also had a wander around Christiania, which is an area where old army barracks were taken over by artists, studios, music venues etc and the community here have been continually trying to get more autonomy from the Danish Government.  It was a really interesting area but there are a few do’s and don’ts due to the drug activity here.

We really liked our visit to Copenhagen, the city was as beautiful as I had heard it was.  And speaking of beautiful city’s, our last stop was Florence.  We did however have another flight cancelation which meant we got to Florence a day later than planned.  Once we got into Florence and settled into our Airbnb we had a wander around the city and were just blown away by the architecture, the marble faced cathedrals were just something else!

For dinner we went to Mercato Centrale which is an awesome indoor market with loads of different food vendors.  I got a really tasty vegan burger from Veg n Veg.  The next day was another busy one which involved a walking tour to all the main sights such as The Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Vecchio, Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, many more and then a walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo where we got an amazing view of the city just before sunset.

Our last day was our most cultured day visiting both the Galleria dell’ Accademia and the Uffizi.  Seeing the original David at the Galleria dell’ Accademia was cool and was a lot bigger than what I had imagined.  It was interesting to learn in the tour the day before that the reason for the head and hands been disproportionately big was because it was originally intended to be placed at the top of a building.  Next the Uffizi was visited which had 3 floors filled with Renaissance art.  The most popular pieces that Maite had wanted to see were Primavera and the Birth of Venus.

We both absolutely loved Florence, it is such a beautiful city with so much see in terms of architecture and art.  It felt like you could walk 10 steps from one beautiful plaza and then be in another one.  You do have to compete with the crowds, even in May, but would still recommend visiting despite this.

The Isle of Skye had been on Maite’s bucket list for a while now so we decided to cross it off on the Easter weekend.  We had pretty nice weather all the way up there so we were treated to some bonny views.

On the way we also stopped at Eilean Donan Castle which is very beautiful.  It was also interesting to learn about history of the castle.  It was strategically important since it is built where three sea lochs meet but it was largely destroyed by English forces during the Jacobite uprising in 1719 and it wasn’t until 1911 when a rebuild of the castle started.

Afterwards we then continued to Skye and made our way down to Elgol where you can get a pretty awesome view of the Cuillin Mountains (going to climb those bad boys one day! 🙂 )

That night we stayed at Broadford Youth Hostel which was basic but decent enough.  The next day was a busy one to try and see as much as we could.  The first stop was the fairy pools in Glenbrittle.  I couldn’t get over how many tourists there were but it was Skye on an Easter bank holiday.  The fairy pools were cool though coming across waterfall after waterfall as you walk up the glen and the mountain views were good when the cloud lifted for long enough to get a look :).

The next stop was a hike to the Old Man of Storr which is a hike up to a rocky pinnacle on the Trotternish Ridge.  The views across to the Isle of Raasay were beautiful and clouds on the ridge made for some atmospheric sights.  The hike wasn’t too difficult either so got a pretty good reward to effort ratio there!

Up next was a Kilt Rock a little further north where you can find a waterfall off the cliffs straight into the sea.  This was another pretty cool sight but not a huge amount of water when we were there :P.

On our way back down to Portree we stopped along the road to take in more sights.  Skye is just so beautiful with mountains, cliffs and sea all crammed into a relatively small area.

Tonight we would stay in Portree Youth Hostel which was really nice and had a really chilled atmosphere in the dining/common room area.  The next day we were heading back to Edinburgh but first we made a de-tour to the coral beach near Dunvegan which is very awesome and worth a visit.

Last stop on the way home was at Glenfinnan.  Here you can see a curved concrete arch viaduct but to honest, there are much nicer masonry arch viaducts around the country.  The view down Loch Shiel however is stunning.

Overall, we had a great little getaway.  There is so much to see on and around Skye and would highly recommend it to anyone, even if these days it is very touristy.

Weekend in London, why not?.  Me and Maite took the direct Waverley to Kings Cross train after work to arrive late on Friday night.  Next day, first stop was breakfast at by Chloe where we had a tofu scramble and seitan chorizo wrap and a tofu scramble and maple sausage roll.  Both were really tasty but a bit pricey for the portions we got.  Next we went on a Sandemans free walking tour around Westminster which was great as always and the tour guide was pretty funny.  We visited all the main sights such as Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park and of course Westminster Abbey.

After the tour we took a quick detour to see the Institution of Civil Engineers head quarters, which I didn’t realise was so close the Westminster Abbey.  Having being a member for more than 10 years it was nice to see where my membership fees go. 😛

Next we took the tube east to go and see the Tower Bridge and then have some very expensive pints in a pub under the bridge.  I love how the photo in the pub has caught someone in the background receiving some really shocking news. 😛

Continuing the theme of expensive drinks, we then headed over the Duck and Waffle which is a restaurant on the 40^th floor of the Heron Tower.  The views of the city were beautiful and I particularly liked the glass lift to the restaurant. 🙂

For dinner we headed back west to Jamie’s Italian to use a gift voucher we received at Christmas.  Food was good but again not really worth the price tag.  On our way back to our Air B&B we stopped by M&M world which is a shop with not one, not two but 3 floors that had walls covered in M&Ms and as much merchandise as you can possibly think of.

The next day we headed up to Camden Town.  On the way we got a very hearty cooked breakfast from Cafe Mexicana.  Camden was really cool and had loads of elaborately decorated shops that had very specific niches such as a shop that only sold Converse trainers and New Rock, which surprisingly sells leather and boots.

The Camden Market was pretty awesome too.  It had lots of stalls selling really original artwork and jewelry. It also had other niche shops such as one that was pumping our dance tunes included girls dancing on stages and sold clothes for raving.

On our way back to Kings Cross we stopped at VX for some food which had a load of vegan treats.  We had mac and cheese, nuggets and a beef and salsa quesadilla and it was all really tasty.

We both had a really good time in London.  We got to see the main sights, eat some really tasty food and see the very quirky Camden Town.  The only down-side is how busy it is.  It was February and it felt like Edinburgh during the Fringe but we would definitely visit again. If nothing else to see Big Ben not covered in scaffolding. 😛

Another trip to Spain yaaaay! The first stop was Zaragoza.  Here me and Maite mostly spent our time wandering from terrace to terrace drinking beer after beer, enjoying the sun and catching up with her friends including her friend Jing who she hadn’t seen for around 5 years since she moved back to China.  We did also manage to squeeze in a bit of tourism when Maite surprised me with a trip up the tower of El Pilar.

The next part of our holiday was in Alcaniz where we were catching up with Maite’s family and we got to meet her nephew Young Ian for the first time!  Also, this weekend the Moto GP was been held at Motor Land which is a racetrack just a few miles outside of Alcaniz.  There were soooo many bikes all over the town and there was a great party atmosphere at night.  All over the town there were stages playing music, pop up bars and bikers burning rubber.  It was also really cool to just be out into the early hours wearing nothing but shorts and t-shirt.  We went out on both Friday and Saturday and met up with Maria, Jose and the twins and had a great time.  After the party nights we cured our hangover going to Bar Doble As with Maite’s brother Fernando which was a really cool bar with lots of interesting beer.

Now it was time for a wee road trip. We headed to Vinaros on the coast where Maite’s parents had a flat.  The roads there were super bendy but offered me (the passenger) nice mountain views.  On the first night in Vinaros we walked around the beach front and got some amazing ice cream from Heladeria Milano. Nearly every one of the ice creams in the photo is vegan!

The next day we took a trip to Peniscola to visit the old town and castle (AKA Mereen in Game of Thrones).  The inside of the old town was really beautiful with lots of pretty narrow streets even if rest of Peniscola.  We also made our obligatory visit to the local craft beer bar which was called Cerveza Artesana Badum 🙂

On our way back to Alcaniz the following day we stopped at various beautiful old towns and villages.  The first was Morella which sat on a steep hill with a castle perched on top.  Again the narrow twisty streets were really cool and castle was awesome too.  It was a fair bit more run down than the one in Peniscola but I guess that one has a bit more funding when it’s used for so many film and TV sets.  Next village was Valderrobres which again was really beautiful and there we enjoyed more beers in the sun and this time mountain views from the castle.  The last beautiful old village to visit today was Calaceite where we also met up with Maite’s friend Anna.

After getting in late last night we got ourselves up early to visit the Monasterio de Piedra which was 2.5 hours from Alcaniz.  The park here was sooo beautiful with so many amazing waterfalls.  I don’t think I have ever seen so many waterfalls in such a close proximity.  We spent hours wandering around here with paths that also took you down through the rocks right next to a huge waterfall.

The very last part of our trip would be spent in the picturesque village of Rafales.  When there, Maite’s dad gave us a tour of the church and village hall.  He also gave us a tour of the surrounding area and visited El Salt where “sometimes” there is a waterfall.  Not today through. 😛  The area around Rafales, known as Matarrana, is lovely with lots of hike-able mountains which I will need to do some day.  We also made one last stop to one more picturesque village called La Fresneda.  When back in Rafales, we had a great family barbeque where I also met Dani and Lidia’s friends, Ruben and Espe.

We had a really great time in Spain and had a bit of everything including catching up with family and friends, road trips, sun and beers.  What more could we ask for?

Liverpewl!! Time for a wee city break with the missus and Liverpool was the city of choice this down.  We got the train down and in the evening had a wander around the centre.  The architecture was really pretty and the city centre had a nice friendly buzz about it.  We also of course got an obligatory photo with The Beatles.

The following day we went on a Sandman’s free tour which went from St George’s Hall to the docks.  The tour guide was pretty funny and it was interesting to hear how Liverpool had initially being quite a wealthy city due to its docks but until about 10-15 years ago it was actually quite a run-down city.  The tour of course went down Matthew Street where the famous Cavern Club is.  I never knew that actually only around 40% of the original club still existed as British Rail demolished the rest to make room for a ventilation shaft for a subway that was never built!

Liverpool Cathedral was also visited which was beautiful inside and out.  This was then followed by dinner with Maite’s friend Maria at Crust where we had amazing pizzas. 

The British Music Experience was visited next which was really interesting and spent hours there.  It was intriguing to learn about how much British and American music influenced each other.  There were also hologram performances by Boy George which were scarily convincing!

Lunch was had at Barcaro which was an amazing tapas place where we were lucky to get a seat. Then of course The Cavern Club was visited.  Now it was a Saturday afternoon so it was heaving but it was pretty awesome to visit a club that so many famous artists had performed at (in the original 40%)  and there were some good bands playing while we were there.

Later on we met up with Maite’s friends Maria and Neil who showed us around to some cool bars and places to eat. The next morning we passed by Penny Lane to go to Tavern Co which is quite well know in Liverpool for making great breakfasts and we weren’t disappointed.  We took a wander around Sefton Park which was very beautiful and we had a cracking day for it and also took a visit to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral which was a very strange, modern (1967) but cool place.

Overall we had a really nice time in Liverpool.  We found it to be a very friendly, walk-able city filled with a lot people that like a good night out! 😛

South America!! This would be my first time to this continent and for the first two weeks or so I would be spending it in Patagonia! 🙂  Patagonia had been on my bucket list for a while so it was pretty exciting to be ticking it off.  Four flights and about 30 hours later I landed in El Calafate where I would spend one night before heading north to El Chalten.  El Calafate was a nice town with good views of mountains on the horizon.  It was quite touristy and full of hikers like me.

On the bus up to El Chalten I got my first glimpses of Fitz Roy in the flesh which was pretty awesome.  When I arrived it was glorious day so I couldn’t wait to get my hike on!  While in El Chalten I stayed at a hostel called Rua Mulen.  The hostel had a really nice and friendly atmosphere.  It was really easy to meet and chat to other travellers here and I met loads of nice people here. On my first night I went out with a few of the other guests to a market in the town for some food and beers.  Now, back to the hiking!  My first small hikes were to Los Condores and Las Aguilas where I got some pretty good views of the Fitz Roy range.

A hike to Laguna Torre was next on the list.  Again I got some amazing views along this hike but the closer I got to the lake the stronger the wind was getting.  As I walked along the river the wind was whipping the water around.  On the last approach to the lake the gusts of wind were pushing me all over the place.  Finally at the lake itself, the wind was so strong I couldn’t even stand there for a second.  I had heard how strong the Patagonia wind was but never experienced anything like that.  I managed to get a photo and that was about it but no matter, the hike in had been beautiful.

The following day involved a hike to Laguna de los Tres / Fitz Roy.  Honestly, at the first mirador of Fitz Roy I was just blown away by the views.  From that point I pretty much constantly had fantastic views of the mountain range in front of me or beautiful glacial rivers.  There was also a fresh dusting of show near the top which added to the beauty.  At the base of the mountain the views were just staggering, hard to put it into words really and the photos really don’t do them justice. 

And my last hike in El Chalten was to Loma Del Pliegue.  Again, along this hike I had beautiful mountain views as well as paths to follow through a lovely forest where I seen a giant woodpecker in action! 

From the summit the views were just breath taking and I couldn’t actually believe what I was seeing.  There was also an Argentinean and Spaniard at the summit.  The Argentinean shared his Mate with us.  It was a pretty epic moment sipping on a Mate on a mountain top in Patagonia with amazing clear views.  I stayed up there as long as I could bare the icy wind.

After 4 nights in El Chalten it was time to move on and start moving south.  My next stop would be back in El Calafate where I went to see the Perito Moreno Glacier.  This was pretty spectacular and I have never seen anything like it.  I spent hours walking around the walkways seeing the glacier from different angles.  There can’t be many places in the world where you can get a bus to the base of a glacier at the top of a lake.  It was also really impressive to see massive chunks of ice falling into the water.  Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough with my camera to get a photo or video of this happening :P

While in El Calafate I was sharing my dorm with another Scot (I know right, there are only 5 million of us) so of course we went for a few beers at La Zorra Taproom which had a pretty decent selection of beers.

Next was a bus down to Puerto Natales.  The border crossing was a much of a pain as most crossings but all was OK and then the following day I was on a bus to Torres Del Paine for a couple of nights.  I stayed in a hostel on the outskirts of TDP Park near Lake Amarga.  It was nice enough but totally dead and not ideally located when you don’t have a car.  But having said that it did have a fantastic view of the Torres. 

On the day I arrived I went for a small hike as I didn’t have enough time to do the hike to the base of the Torres.  I went to Cascada Rio Paine which was amazing!  I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the waterfall and I still had a great view of the Torres so I inevitably spent a bit of time hanging out here. 

The following day I hiked to the base of the Torres.  This was another pretty awesome walk with steep canyons and crazy coloured rivers and lakes.  I did prefer the hiking I did around El Chalten as these hikes had more staggering views for longer but I was definitely very spoilt there!

Once finished in TDP I bussed back down to Puerto Natales.  I checked into my hostel at 53 Sur which was a really nice family run hostel.  Puerto Natales was a nice town which I would say was “half touristy” with people coming from all over to hike in TDP.  I had a nice time here wandering around and went for a small hike up Doritea just outside the town.  On my last night Carolina (a long term hostel guest) invited me to a barbeque that she and Marco (hostel staff) were having with their friends at the hostel.  It was a really good night which involved great company, pizza, wine, night out on the town, karaoke and a “moon set”.

My last place to visit in Chile was Punta Arenas which is where I would fly to Rio from and this was also as far south as I had ever been in the world.  Here I wandered around and visited the main square where I kissed the Indians toe on the Momento Hernando de Magallanes which is said to ensure you will have safe travels and return to Punta Arenas / Patagonia.  I also visited the main graveyard which might sound a bit weird but was full of really impressive and giant tombs for wealthy families and I visited the Sara Braun Palace, which is really a mansion, but was beautiful inside and out.

On my way back up to the northern hemisphere I went via Rio de Janerio for some relaxing.  On the way into the city I was very glad to start chatting to Martin and Victoria, from Buenos Aires, as they were able to navigate the various forms of public transport much more easily than me with fluent Spanish and some Portuguese up their sleeves.  On my first night I took a walk along Copacabana beach which was quite a culture shock as I had just spent two weeks in mountains and small towns and now boom – people everywhere.  I also couldn’t get over how I felt overdressed wearing shorts and t-shirt.  It was really beautiful to walk along the beach though and there was a lot of buzz.  While in Rio I done most of the typical touristy things like hiking up to Christ the Redeemer.  The views from here were amazing – blue skies, sea, lakes and mountains and Rio weaving between them.  I visited Sugar Loaf Mountain at night with Martin and Victoria and the views from here were breathtaking as well.

Rio is such a beautiful city and the weather was really nice while I was here. A little too hot for a Scot some days, like 34 degrees Celsius too hot! I walked around a lot exploring which did take its toll since Rio is so big and I lost count of how many bottles of water I drunk.  By the end I did have to resort to the metro which was much kinder on the feet and to my body temperature.  I explored areas like Flamengo – more beautiful beaches here, Santa Teresa – which was a really cool neighbourhood consisting of small hilly twisty streets and Leblon & Ipanema – mooore beautiful beaches.

I also visited Jardim Botanical Gardens which is impressive and pretty large with everything from the Atlantic Rainforest, The Amazon and rows and rows of palm trees in it.  The Museum of Tomorrow was interesting, it had some pretty original ways to display information and was a bit different from most museums I have visited since it seemed to aim at being more thought provoking regarding the future of humanity.  And of course the Escadaria Selaron was climbed which is an amazing set of steps with murals all the way up. On my last night I went for a drink with Martin and Victoria which was really nice and I was enjoyed the chilled vibes, caipirinhas and warm temperatures while inside an open walled bar.

I really enjoyed exploring Rio and I never really felt like I was in any danger.  As far as I know I stuck to relatively safe areas.  The amount of homeless people around was not something I had ever seen before but probably not so unusual for a city the size of Rio.  Overall I thought it was a very beautiful city and definitely worth “stopping by” on my return.

It was time for the second crazy Spanish wedding of the year. This time it would be near Barcelona so me and Maite took the opportunity to explore the city a bit.  When we arrived it was sunny and 23 degrees Celsius and it stayed that way the whole time we were there, not bad for the end of October!  As soon as we got off the bus from the airport we were treated to some pretty impressive architecture near Placa d’ Espanya.

We soon dumped our bags at our Airbnb and started exploring the Gothic Quarter. I really loved all the little alleys and I do like a nice gothic cathedral!

We found a really good vegan restaurant called Cat Bar where we had some delicious burgers. It was pretty quirky with a, as you may have guessed, theme of cats.  I don’t tend to actively seek out bars with a cat theme but the food was sooo tasty.

We had also picked a pretty interesting time to visit Barcelona. As we wandered around there were quite a few marches happening and gatherings in the main square related to Catalonian Independence.  At no point did it feel hostile but we didn’t hang around these areas too long to find out.

The next day we used a tourist bus to travel around different parts of the city. Our first stop was Parc Guell which is Gaudi creation.  Gaudi was known for his appreciation of nature and his architecture mimicking it.  Parc Guell takes this idea to another level where his architecture and nature goes hand in hand.  It was very beautiful, super touristy at the bottom but could escape the crowds the further up the park we climbed.

In the afternoon we passed by Casa Mila and then visited La Pedrera, another two Gaudi creations. La Pedrera is a crazy looking building that houses offices and luxury apartments.  It has stunning architecture both inside and out.

We then ended up down at the port near to the Cristobal Colon statue, right at sunset time. We then nipped into a very cool bar called El Bosc de les Fades (the fairy’s forest) which was decorated like a forest on the inside and even put on a wee thunder and lightning show at some point in the form of sound affects and flashing lights!

The next day was wedding day in Sant Felu where we met up with Maite’s family. It was a really good day and the lunch / dinner went on as long as a Spanish meal typically does (6 hours or so) :P. This was then followed by drinking, chatting and dancing.

Our last full day in Barcelona consisted of breakfast and lunch with Maite’s family which was really nice. Then in the afternoon we visited La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi is at it again).  I was completely amazed at the scale of it and that it is still being constructed 150 years or so after it was started.  Inside was really beautiful.  I really liked how the light came through the giant stain glass windows and how the pillars looked like giant tree trunks.

That night we had dinner at Dolce Pizza and Los Veganos. This was an amazing vegetarian pizza restaurant and a really nice way to finish off our trip.  Barcelona is a beautiful city with a lot to offer. From the quirky Gothic Order, the endless amount of terraces & tapas, great vegan food and Gaudi’s mental buildings.

Islay, a small island off the west coast of Scotland which is currently the home of EIGHT whisky distilleries and it was mine, Cathal and Thomas’s plan to visit them all.  Here is what we learned about the process of making whisky:

1. Barley is soaked in warm water and spread out on malting floors to start germinating so that its sugar can be accessed later on in the process. This process is called malting.  Germination is stopped by drying out the barley.  On Islay this is done by burning peat in a kiln which is what gives Islay whiskies their peaty and smoky taste.  Most distilleries don’t do their own malting but there are a few that do some of the malting they require and they are Laphroaig, Bowmore and Kilchoman.
2. This barley is then ground down in a specialised grinding machine to get the required consistency.
3. Once the barley is ground to the desired size, this (the Grist) is added to a mash tub along with warm water to start dissolving the sugars. Each distillery must have its own water source. 
4. This mixture (the Wort) is then added to large tanks called washbacks. This is where fermentation happens when yeast is added and turns the sugars into alcohol.  This liquid is called the Wash.  Some distilleries let you try it and it basically tastes like a strong (ok but not amazing) beer.
5. The wash is then distilled. This is where it is heated up in stills, the alcohol vapours rise to the top of the still and then condense.  The condensed liquid is then distilled at least one more time.  The liquid from the “heart” of the still is what is added to casks to mature.  The remaining liquid either has too much or too little alcohol and is then mixed and reused in the distillation of the next batch. 
6. The liquid is then stored in casks for a number of years to mature and the number of years depends on what kind of whisky the distillery is trying to make but it has to be matured for a minimum of 3 years. And after the maturation, like magic, whisky has been made!We succeeded in visiting all of the distilleries.  I really liked how the ones on the coast had their names painted on the buildings in massive letters to that ships delivering ingredients knew which distillery was which.  While the process of making whisky is basically the same at each one there were subtle differences in methods and equipment.  I would recommend all of the tours to see these differences and to try a whole bunch of whisky!  The only one I didn’t like as much as the rest was the Bowmore one and this was because the guide we had came across as though she was giving a tour to school children.  Ardbeg and Bruichladdich both had a really interesting history.  One thing to note is that a few distilleries have their silent season in summer months where they are not producing.  This was because traditionally water supplies were low in summer so they used the time to carry out equipment maintenance.  Not really a problem if you go to all of the distilleries like we did though!:P  One more is actually opening in 2018, I guess I will have to go back in a few years!

   While on Islay we also enjoyed some of scenery.  We visited the American Monument at the south of the island where we got some fantastic coast line views.

   

   Heelan Coo on the way to the American Monument

   

   Cathal and Thomas walking to the American Monument

   

   For the first two nights we camped at Kintra Farm Campsite which didn’t have the best facilities but did have cracking views since it was on a beach facing west.

   

   Camping at Kintra Farm Campsite

   

   We also visited Machir Bay on the west of the island which was a beautiful and fairly quiet white sandy beach.  The waves from the Atlantic crashing in were pretty impressive and looked very surf-able even though I’m sure the water would be fecking freezing!

   

   Machir Bay

   

   For the last two nights we camped at near Port Charlotte which had really good facilities that were shared with a football pitch.  Overall we had a great trip.  Friends, whisky and nice scenery, what more do you need?

   

   Camping near Port Charlotte

   

   Jura from the ferry on the way back

So this would be my very first time to Ireland which is pretty shocking considering I have lived in Scotland for most of my life. Me and Maite got ourselves an Air B&B for the weekend which was nice and central next to St Patrick’s Cathedral.

On our first night we went to Umi Falafel for dinner where we both had amazing falafel pitas and wraps.  Afterwards, we went for a couple of pints at the Stags Head.  The pub was in a nice area with a collection of pups and restaurants.  This area had a really friendly party atmosphere and I liked how the small streets turned into unofficial pedestrian areas as people spilled out from the patios. 

The following morning we went on a Sandman’s free tour of the city centre which took us to sights such as Dublin Castle and Trinity College which were both beautiful.  The tour was interesting and informative although it was very politically skewed.  Understandable considering Ireland’s past and I do find it interesting but I’m also sure that there were other topics that could have been covered in more detail.

Lunch was had at Happy Food Vegan Restaurant which was part of a yoga studio.  I had some very tasty barbecue sauce marinated tofu and Maite had an equally good veggie burger.  The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around town.

In the evening we met up with my friend Niall at O’Neils.  It was really good to catch up with him and the pub was pretty cool as it had loads of the different rooms over a two floors.  I can definitely imagine the layout becoming confusing after a few!:P  When we were finished Niall showed us an awesome kebab shop / restaurant called Zaytoon where, you guessed it, I had more falafel and Maite got some very tasty salmon.  Me and Maite then stayed out a little longer but in the next bar that we went to we bought two double rum and cokes which set us back 29 Euros!!! We didn’t stay out long.

On our last day we went to Yogisim where we got some really nice vegan pancakes for breakfast. The Chester Beatty Library was visited which was pretty cool and had a really impressive collection of old religious books.  For our last meal we went back to Umi Falafel, just couldn’t resist that place!:P  Overall we really enjoyed Dublin.  It’s a pretty and very walk-able small city, ideal for a weekend break from the UK.